A Christmas message of freedom

In an effort to keep this Christmas season from devolving into a stressful month of hustle and bustle, I’ve made a concerted effort to take time and reflect on the more spiritual aspects of the holiday on a daily basis. And among the many positive Christmas messages I’ve pondered over the past few weeks, one in particular has made its way through my mind several times.

A message of liberty.

God’s desire for humankind to love and follow him, and our refusal to do so, stands as the central theme of the Christian faith. Amazingly, an all-powerful God never forces creation’s hand. Instead, he steps off his throne and enters the world as a helpless baby, born to an unwed teenage girl pledged to be married to a carpenter. The first people to gaze on the ruler of the universe – his parents and some lowly shepherds who find Jesus lying in a manger, most likely in a cold dank cave. God comes into the world not to rule with an iron fist, but to die a humiliating death in order to draw people to him – of their own free will.

Did you catch that?

God did not use his power to bend us to his will. He humbled himself and invites us to follow him – not because we must, but because we choose.

If God grants humankind that kind of liberty, should we not grant it to one another?

Even those who don’t accept the Christian faith, can surely embrace this message.

We were created free.

Our founders understood this truth and formed political system built upon that principle.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”